Not to wear out a discussion, but there has been some discussion on the wing bolts recently. I just accidently discovered a source of nylon bolts that everyone probably has locally. A few years ago I stopped in at a Auto parts store to buy license plate bolts for my pick-up. Not one to read the fine print, I bought bolts that "fit most imports" and they did not fit my Ford F150. I put them in a drawer for future use maybe. Today they were rediscovered and in futher reading the fine print they are 6 x 25 mm black nylon bolts. So now I have 4 extra nylon wing bolts for probably a dollar or so.

So if you chose to stick with the nylon bolts try your local auto parts store for license plate screws.

Rightfly/Roger, that's real helpful. I will write that down on the manual, thanks.
While on the subject of alternate parts, I wonder if there are any plastic cowlings out there that will fit on the Sensei? What about the Apprenctice's cowling?

definitely fly it stock first and see if u wanna upgrade. with the stock, i too get 10 minute flights. also inverted low flybys, rolling circles, cuban 8's, stall turns, and immelmans with the stock motor.

Rightfly/Roger, that's real helpful. I will write that down on the manual, thanks.
While on the subject of alternate parts, I wonder if there are any plastic cowlings out there that will fit on the Sensei? What about the Apprenctice's cowling?

It's easy to make one with just a little effort. Model builders have been using plastic bottles and a heat gun/hair dryer for decades. You can use your original cowling or make a custom shape using a balsa block. Start with the bottom of a plastic bottle that will fit over you form, fitting as close as you can find, and longer than your form. Apply heat slowly and evenly and watch it shrink and take the shape of your form. After it cools you trim the open end to fit, open holes in the front for prop and air flow and paint to match. It will take some practice to get the best results.

Here is an update to my earlier post about motors. While checking the stock prop (10x5) and the 9.5x7.5 I noticed that the esc started to smell like burnt electronics. So off to the LHS and I came home with a new park 480 1020 kv motor, I had a 30a e-flite esc at home to use with it. The interesting thing is that while looking at the new sensei at the LHS I noticed that the esc was moved from inside the battery compartment to under the motor mount and held in place by a zip tie.. I placed a call to FZ and they confirmed that this is the new location for it and they are also sending me a new esc. Below are some pictures of how I mounted mine. I also had to extend the battery leads and use an ext. to reach the RX. As far as props go I went with the recommended 10x7 and will see how this flies.

How much does the old motor weigh as I need to find the difference to the new motor so I can adj the weight in the cowl? How many weights had to come out?

Thanks
Howard

P.s. horizon hobby said not to check the wattage while the plane is secured on the ground as it gives a false higher reading as the plane is not allowed to freely move thru the air and an on board unit would be better.

Images

How much heat do you need to use? A hair dryer or paint removing tool?

Also, if I did this over my existing good cowl would the process damage the cowl. I had not heard of that process before but it sounds simple enough.

Roger

Roger, I had not done shis on the foam parts previously so I experimented with a damaged cowl that I still have. Based on my experiment I would not recommend using your good cowl as a form. The heat brought out the grain in the foam more than I would consider acceptable. If you were using a damaged cowl that you were no longer going to use however it does not destroy it. Years ago I did this with a blow dryer, 900w I believe, to form a cowl that I had broken. My experiment today was done with a T/H heat gun (900w). The technique is similar to that used to cover compound cures with mono/ultra kote on balsa. I hope this has been helpful.

Here is an update to my earlier post about motors. While checking the stock prop (10x5) and the 9.5x7.5 I noticed that the esc started to smell like burnt electronics. So off to the LHS and I came home with a new park 480 1020 kv motor, I had a 30a e-flite esc at home to use with it. The interesting thing is that while looking at the new sensei at the LHS I noticed that the esc was moved from inside the battery compartment to under the motor mount and held in place by a zip tie.. I placed a call to FZ and they confirmed that this is the new location for it and they are also sending me a new esc. Below are some pictures of how I mounted mine. I also had to extend the battery leads and use an ext. to reach the RX. As far as props go I went with the recommended 10x7 and will see how this flies.

How much does the old motor weigh as I need to find the difference to the new motor so I can adj the weight in the cowl? How many weights had to come out?

Thanks
Howard

P.s. horizon hobby said not to check the wattage while the plane is secured on the ground as it gives a false higher reading as the plane is not allowed to freely move thru the air and an on board unit would be better.

Howard, I installed the Park 480 also, back in September. There was no need to remove any weight from the cowl. The performance of the 480 will make you ask why you didn't do it sooner. I bought my Sensei in July and the ESC location was as you described on my original setup. As to burst testing the model static. You will have a higher amp reading and as long as your static reading is within your system limits you can feel confidant that when the prop unloads your amp draw will always be within a safe range.

...The interesting thing is that while looking at the new sensei at the LHS I noticed that the esc was moved from inside the battery compartment to under the motor mount and held in place by a zip tie.

Howard,
Mine came from the factory with the ESC under the motor mount. Maybe this is one of the things they did to improve reliability of the components. I haven't had any issues with mine, plenty of power and not too bad on batteries.
Thanks for the info, that is a good one to remember.
Kevin

How much does the old motor weigh as I need to find the difference to the new motor so I can adj the weight in the cowl? How many weights had to come out?

Thanks
Howard

P.s. horizon hobby said not to check the wattage while the plane is secured on the ground as it gives a false higher reading as the plane is not allowed to freely move thru the air and an on board unit would be better.

The motor is 73 grams and the steel mount is 20 grams. The weights are about 11 grams each.

It's easy to make one with just a little effort. Model builders have been using plastic bottles and a heat gun/hair dryer for decades. You can use your original cowling or make a custom shape using a balsa block. Start with the bottom of a plastic bottle that will fit over you form, fitting as close as you can find, and longer than your form. Apply heat slowly and evenly and watch it shrink and take the shape of your form. After it cools you trim the open end to fit, open holes in the front for prop and air flow and paint to match. It will take some practice to get the best results.

Dennis

Thanks. Didn't know you could do that. I got a monokote heat gun that might work.

With a 2200 mah battery and two of the weights removed from the cowl, the cog of the plane was level. I added one of the weights back in to make it a little nose heavy and will adjust it after I fly it. Am I on the right track?

I reinstalled the cowl using four Velcro tabs, and with the esc in its new location I had a small gap between the cowl and the fuse. Not that it would hurt anything it just bothered me to look at it. I had some white monokote left over from another project so I used it over the gap

So now I have the old motor and FZ is sending me a new esc, I was thinking about using in my Hobbyzone super cub lp. It is a lighter plane and my not tax the system as much. It would be a complete rebuild as I would need new servos as well.

Here is an update to my earlier post about motors. While checking the stock prop (10x5) and the 9.5x7.5 I noticed that the esc started to smell like burnt electronics. So off to the LHS and I came home with a new park 480 1020 kv motor, I had a 30a e-flite esc at home to use with it. The interesting thing is that while looking at the new sensei at the LHS I noticed that the esc was moved from inside the battery compartment to under the motor mount and held in place by a zip tie.. I placed a call to FZ and they confirmed that this is the new location for it and they are also sending me a new esc. Below are some pictures of how I mounted mine. I also had to extend the battery leads and use an ext. to reach the RX. As far as props go I went with the recommended 10x7 and will see how this flies.

How much does the old motor weigh as I need to find the difference to the new motor so I can adj the weight in the cowl? How many weights had to come out?

Thanks
Howard

Hi Howard,
That is exactly what I have on my Sensei. I think it has probably 150 flights (at least) with that setup. you can use safely any of the props (10x5, 9.5x7.5, 10x7, 11x6)I've tried them all, they all work fine and no problems .
The ESC is still the stock, I repladed the stock motor after it dropped a magnet.
Have fun,
Danny